Extreme heat to smother much of US this weekend

More than 170 million people placed under heat advisories as East Coast braces for brutal temperatures

New York City and much of the US East Coast is experiencing extreme heat. AFP

A heatwave that has brought unrelenting high temperatures to the US Southwest is forecast to bring even more brutal weather for most of the population this weekend.

Heat advisories were in effect for more than 170 million people, with the bulk along the I-95 corridor on the East Coast.

Major cities along Interstate 95 – Washington, Philadelphia and New York City – on Thursday experienced “real feel” temperatures of 37.8°C or greater because of heat and humidity.

The National Weather Service said the dangerous heat will peak in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Friday and Saturday before more welcoming temperatures return on Sunday and early next week.

“Some locations in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic can expect their hottest temperatures so far in 2023,” the federal weather agency reported in its Friday bulletin.

Evenings are not expected to provide relief for parts of Kansas, Illinois and Missouri with overnight temperatures remaining above 26.7°C on Friday and Saturday.

The Southwest and Midwest will continue to face record-breaking temperatures.

The NWS also issued an “Enhanced Risk” of severe thunderstorm for parts of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley region westward to the Middle Missouri Valley until Saturday morning.

A weather system will interact with that atmosphere with potential for severe storms from the Midwest to the Great Lakes.

July has already brought record-breaking temperatures not just in the US, but in Europe and China also. Temperature records have led researchers to conclude that this month is hottest on record.

Speaking on Thursday, President Joe Biden said that the issue of climate change is an “existential threat”. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the world has entered a new phase of “global boiling”.